This invention relates generally to wireless communication and, more particularly to a method of creating a database of poor coverage areas in wireless communication systems.
Many wireless systems, including cellular systems, exist today. Some wireless systems are more mature and provide nearly ubiquitous coverage for a specific region, while other, newer systems are still building out their systems to provide complete coverage in an area. Users often move through poor coverage areas, especially in newer systems, and drop calls. These areas are generally found by trial an error, with few system operators declaring system deficiencies. On occasion, coverage areas can change due to loading on the system or depending if the portable cellular devices is in or out of a vehicle, building, and the like. This has the effect of the system dropping calls and increased user inconvenience, which culminates in a decreased efficiency of the wireless system. Current methods of determining poor coverage areas include driving around with a Global Positioning System unit and a cellular phone or other data gathering device and manually charting the system coverage, with users able to purchase coverage information. These methods have the disadvantage of possibly being out of date, incomplete, inaccurate and inconvenient to use. These prior art methods fail to include a time dimension and do not account for changes in coverage associated with the time of day, week, and the like. In addition, the current methods do not predict poor coverage areas or provide any sort of warnings to a user.
Accordingly, there is a significant need for methods of creating a database of poor coverage areas in a wireless system that overcome the deficiencies of the prior art outlined above.